


Say what?

by shipsinkandsails



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Asami messes up big time, F/F, Modern AU, No Bending, Random - Freeform, Romance, kinda sad, prompt-fic, quite sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 11:24:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3849136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipsinkandsails/pseuds/shipsinkandsails
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She would have done anything to take back what she'd said that day. Modern, no bending AU. Flames and criticism are absolutely welcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The mistake

Asami glanced over the crowd of nameless faces. Opal and Bolin had dragged her all the way to a nightclub with the excuse of getting her to 'cheer up'. She had refused at first, wanting to just curl up on the sofa and sob to Nicholas Sparks movies with a Ben&Jerry's tub of Rocky Road in her hands for the entire night but they persisted, and now here she was. Wasting her time surrounded by strangers and drunks and  _not Korras._

"Asami, I know what you're thinking about. Quit brooding and come mere'!" Opal shouted over the music and brought her over to the bar. Asami unceremoniously plopped down on one of the stools and slouched, her elbows resting on the counter as she stared into space.

"I'm not brooding," she muttered stubbornly. "I don't brood."

Opal seated herself next to the CEO of Future Industries and laughed.

"Right, and Mako's eyebrows don't look like flesh-eating sharks." Asami forced a smile at the girl's effort to make her laugh.

"Well…" she trailed off. Opal gave her a look that made her swallow her next words. "Nothing."

Okay, maybe she was brooding a little. She couldn't blame anyone for it; especially not Korra. Asami's heart deflated again as she thought about the younger woman. They'd had an intense argument about her faithfulness to Asami that had quickly gotten out of hand, resulting in her running out of their apartment in a silent, blistering rage.

That had been several days ago.

Asami was now officially suffering from Korra withdrawal. All the guilt and loneliness was building up and she would wake up to puffy eyes and a pillow, damp with tears. To the point where she would suddenly find it hard to breathe and start sobbing. She had taken a day too many off from school and work because of it.

* * *

"Asami, I'm home!" Korra locked the front door shut and was greeted with her girlfriend standing in the corridor, arms crossed and her lovely green eyes narrowed.

"You're late." Asami said quietly.

"Yeah, I had to send some of the girls from the gym home. It was getting dark and I couldn't just let them go home by themselves so I drove them." Korra grinned and leaned in for a kiss but was pushed aside. Her eyes widened in concern at this action that was very not like her girlfriend, who would usually welcome her kisses with a smile. "What's wrong?"

The older woman didn't answer.

"Babe, did something happen at work?" Korra approached Asami and gathered her up in her arms, wanting to give her girlfriend a tight hug but felt her heart break a little as she was pushed away again, more roughly this time.

"Don't lie to me." Asami seethed. Korra stepped away, confused and wary of her girlfriend's tone.

"What?" Korra glanced over at the dinner table only to see a large bottle of liquor. Her shocked gaze snapped back to Asami, only now noticing the subtle flush across her cheeks and a glossed over look in her eyes.

"Were you  _drinking_?" she gaped. Asami stumbled and Korra sprung forward to catch her.

"Get away from me!"

"You're drunk, babe. Come on, let's go get you to bed."

"I'm not drunk!"

"Well, you're obviously not sober."

"Stop trying to change the subject, Korra!" Asami yelled and struggled to escape the girl's firm hold on her. Korra held her hands up in surrender, not wanting to aggravate her already emotionally unstable girlfriend.

"Where is all this coming from? I am so confused right now."

Asami laughed bitterly, her inky black hair draped around her face like a curtain. Korra couldn't help but notice that she still looked so beautiful even when she was furious and drunk.

"Who is she?"

Korra's heart dropped.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Who is she?"

"What- Are you implying that I cheated on you?" Korra's voice was nothing more than a strangled whisper.

"Please, all those 'send them back home' excuses? I'm not stupid."

"Asami," Korra clenched her hands into fists in an attempt to calm herself down. "I would never  _ever_ cheat on you."

Asami scoffed. The alcohol was in her system too deeply for her to actually rationalize what Korra was saying. If she weren't drunk at that moment, she would have understood that she was blatantly insulting Korra and breaking her heart in the process. All she had wanted to do was just to have a good long talk regarding Korra's recent late night outs. She hadn't meant to be so insensitive and simply just a gigantic asshole.

"I've seen how some of the girls in your class flirt with you. You don't tell them to stop. All you do is flirt back. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

Guilt trailed Korra's features before it slowly morphed into something akin to anger.

"Like you aren't the same with your 'friends'."

"Yeah, but at least I don't  _fuck_  them."

"I have never had sex with anyone else but you!"

Something snapped in Asami.

"Hah, you didn't have to tell  _me_  that. I figured that out on my own!"

Silence engulfed the room in an instant. Both girls' eyes widened in pure shock. Korra opened her mouth to say something _; anything_ , but no words escaped. She heard the blood rushing through her ears, the increasing embarrassment and chilling fury slowly engulfing her. Asami's frozen jade orbs didn't blink as she stared down at Korra, her hands covering her mouth automatically in a futile attempt to gulp down the reality of her actions.

' _Oh shit. I did NOT just say that_.' In an entirety of a second, the alcohol that had flowed through her veins and given her to courage to actually say what she had said evaporated and she was left to deal with a consequence that paralyzed her every nerve. Asami's heart broke when she noticed Korra's baby blue eyes filled with unshed tears, blown wide with broken trust and sorrow.

"K-Kor-"

Before Asami could even utter her name, Korra looked away, her short brown hair shielding the tears and heartbreak she desperately tried to hold in that those words inflicted on her. Asami felt her own throat clog up with a growing sense of panic. She reached out to grab Korra's hand but the younger girl recoiled as though Asami's touch disgusted every pore on her body.

Without saying a single word, Korra picked up the gym bag that she had dropped earlier and stalked over to the door with heavy steps, her pride deeply wounded. Asami's legs were unwilling to move as she witnessed the horrible turn of events in front of her. Korra dug into her pants pocket and withdrew her phone and house keys, placing them on the floor with a gentle ease that only served to fuel Asami's panicked mind, before walking out of the apartment and out of Asami's life.

_What have I done?_

Asami fell to her knees and held her face in her hands, heart pounding at the realization of Korra's departure and the implications of it.

The end of their relationship.

* * *

Thankfully, Bolin had called later that night and worriedly questioned her about Korra's sudden appearance at his doorstep as well as her uneasy silence. Asami could only thank him and heave a sigh of relief that her (ex?)-girlfriend was safe.

The only thing she could do now was to give Korra space. It'd only make things worse if she apologized immediately, she convinced herself. And where did it lead her?

Korra-less that's what.

Asami regretted ever implying such a thing in the first place but she just couldn't help it. Those girls were all over her girlfriend and Korra had done nothing to shake them off or discourage them. It made Asami feel unbelievably jealous. How dare they touch her girlfriend in ways that had taken Asami months to even attempt? It wasn't fair. But it didn't justify her hurtful accusations or the painful comment she made.

She tried to apologise, but every time they were in the same room, Korra bolted out and avoided her completely. It'd been heartbreaking and every time she saw Korra running away  _from_  her, she felt herself break just a little more. But she couldn't let her feel sorry for herself. Korra was probably even worse off than her.

' _I mean, the person she trusted with her life; who was supposed to love her and make her happy and keep her secrets and vice versa just told her that she sucked in bed. Ugh, why was I so stupid?_ ' Asami brokenly thought to herself.

"Can I get you anything?" The bartender asked.

"Just water, please. I'm not planning to go home even remotely drunk tonight." Asami replied without looking up.

The bartender walked away and Asami sighed. She would never allow herself to get drunk ever again.

"Asami!"

Opal and Bolin ran up to her, squeezing past sweaty bodies dancing to the beat of the song. Bolin's eyes were wide and he had a shit-eating grin on his face. Opal's arms were shaking as they grabbed Asami's own.

"What? What happened?"

Opal calmed down enough to spit out only a single word that had her blood racing.

"Korra."

And Asami shot off like a bullet.

* * *

"Aaron, one more shot for the lovely lady, please."

Asami's breath left her lungs when she saw Korra sitting miserably at the counter. Her hair was disheveled. Her jeans were tight and the dress shirt snugly fitted her body; the rolled up sleeves made Asami a little dizzy with arousal. Korra's eyes were locked onto the counter and Asami gasped when she saw the number of shot glasses surrounding the younger girl. Asami would also have seen Korra's crimson cheeks if the club wasn't so dark. Her blue eyes were half-closed and there was a slight sway to her head.

"So how about it, Korra," the woman beside her girlfriend purred seductively.

Asami's eyes narrowed as she inched closer.

' _Hoe, don't do it.'_

"You, me, my bed, now?"

" _OH MY GOD."_ Asami gritted her teeth and took a step forward, embracing Korra awkwardly and pecking her on the cheek with false enthusiasm.

"Korra, there you are! Come on, Bolin and Opal are waiting for us."

"Mmgnngh…?" Korra slurred, looking up at Asami.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"I'm her girlfriend. And you are?" Asami shot back.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Someone who's giving you some good advice. I don't know what happened between you guys, but what ever it is, the two of you have to fix it."

"Well, trying to get in her pants isn't going to help." Asami glared.

"I wasn't. Opal asked a favour from me. All I had to do was pretend like I was hitting on her when you appeared." She jabbed her thumb in Korra's direction. "I had nothing to do with that," she said, referring to Korra's current state. "She ordered the drinks all by herself."

Asami frown softened as she looked at Korra and bit her lip. ' _And it's all my fault._ '

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Sorry for being so high strung. I'm not usually like this."

"I can tell she loves you a lot, so don't worry." The woman assured her.

"How can you tell?"

"Are you kidding me? She caught the attention of some of the hottest girls in the place that I know and she didn't even bat an eyelash at them. I was watching and thought it was pretty weird till you walked right up. When you spoke, she looked up for the first time tonight. Dead drunk and all." She shrugged. "If that ain't love, I don't know what is."

Asami could feel her eyes stinging with tears as she listened.

"Thank you."

"Just playing my part, honey. Now go get her home safely, you hear? The streets aren't safe at night. And heaven knows she's gonna have a hell of a hangover when she wakes up. And don't worry about paying. I'll have Opal cough up the dough."

Asami nodded and put one hand on Korra's hip and grabbed a muscled arm with the other, swinging it around her own shoulders. As quickly as she could, Asami dragged a half-conscious Korra through the crowd. Each one of Korra's slurred grunts stabbed the young heiress with growing guilt as they left the club and headed towards her Satomobile.

* * *

-At the apartment-

She caused this to happen to her most precious person. She was such a horrible monster. Korra suffered so much because of her. After what she'd said, she'd be lucky if Korra wanted her back. She didn't deserve the younger woman. Why would Korra even love her after what she said? Asami thought to herself as she placed a cup of water on the nightstand beside Korra's sleeping body.

Asami watched as her (ex?)-girlfriend slept peacefully, her light snores making her smile.

'Korra would be so much better off with someone else. I don't deserve her. Korra deserves someone who won't doubt her. Someone who loves her unconditionally. Someone who wouldn't hurt her because of something petty like jealousy.'

Asami came to a somber realization that Korra and her weren't going to last.

They weren't going to get married.

She wasn't going to wake up every morning to warm baby blue eyes staring into her own.

They weren't going to adopt kids.

She wasn't going to be able to kiss soft lips or feel strong, lithe arms wrapped around her waist as they slow danced in the living room.

They weren't going to have anymore stupid arguments about cereal brands at the supermarket.

She wasn't going to be able to ever propose.

Asami let out a choked sob as her breathing turned shallow. She lied down on the bed and held Korra in her arms tightly, crying into the younger woman's shoulder.

 


	2. chapter 2

When Korra woke up, she was greeted with 3 seconds of serenity before a headache the size of Jupiter smashed her skull.

"Ugh…" she moaned, too pain-ridden to even properly convey the pain through coherent words. As her mind attempted to dull the throbbing, she drowsily scanned the room she was in.

Wait, a room?

Korra shot up in a panic, temporarily ignoring the incessant spikes of pure torture stabbing her mind.

"Good morning." A quiet voice to her side said, although it felt like a super sonic shrill scream to Korra. She groaned again and screwed her eyes shut in an attempt to disperse some of the agony, only to slowly creak an eye open when she felt an elbow gently nudging her arm. "Here," the voice said, holding out a glass of water and some aspirin.

Korra could only murmur a quick 'thanks' before gulping down the pain-relieving pills.

"How are you feeling?" The voice asked again, and Korra turned to answer with a grimace.

"Not so snazzy," Her grin slowly faded into open-mouthed shock as her eyes met tired and sorrowful emerald ones. Korra almost couldn't recognize her. "…Asami?"

"Hi," Asami greeted lamely.

Korra inwardly gaped at the state the older girl was in.

Sunken, dull green eyes. Cracked, pale lips. Asami looked like she hadn't slept in days.

Korra groaned again, another tendril of pain shooting out to hit her right in her temple. "How-"

"Bolin and Opal dragged me. They asked me to bring you back here when they found you." Asami explained and Korra noticed the unnatural roughness of her voice. "If it makes you feel any better, I really didn't know you were there."

"It's fine." Korra grunted, rubbing her temple with her fingers. "I'm just glad it wasn't some stranger."

Asami couldn't stop the disgusting feeling of relief bloom inside her at those words. "Yeah."

Awkward silence hung in the room. For the second time after waking up, Korra looked around their bedroom. It felt almost surreal sitting on their bed again. She frowned as she spotted the very un-Asami-like pile of dirty laundry sitting next to the bed stand. Korra felt a growing sense of worry as she noticed the room looking disturbingly unkempt, at least when it came to her usually neat and tidy ex(?)-girlfriend.

Asami shifted, drawing Korra's gaze to meet her own, but the Southern Water tribe girl could see that her mind wasn't all there at the moment.

"Asami…?" Korra tentatively began. That seemed to snap her out of her daze. "Are you okay?"

Asami didn't answer. Her tired green eyes bore into Korra.

" _I'm sorry."_  She whispered, clutching her arms around herself. Korra watched as the raven-haired girl broke down.

"I didn't mean to say those things. I was drunk. I wasn't thinking right. I just-" she choked on a sob. "It's all my fault."

Korra's own eyes began to sting.

"I'm such a horrible person." Asami cried, shuddering in between breaths. Her eyes were squeezed shut; her body bending over as the tears fell into her lap like the shards of her broken heart. "Someone like  _me_  doesn't deserve someone as wonderful as you."

Bright blue orbs began to water.

"I never deserved you from the start!"

" _Stop it!"_

A breathless cry jolted Asami from her rant of self-hate. She looked up, tears blurring her vision and mucus running from her nose and down her lips.

"Stop talking about yourself like that!" Korra yelled angrily, pools of clear liquid threatening to fall to the bed sheets.

"Korra-"

" _Someone like 'me'_? What the fuck do you mean? That you're some monster? That you're a lesser being than me? That I'm better than you?"

"I'm saying I'm not good enough for you." Asami whimpered.

"That's BULLSHIT! Korra said, voice harsh and raw. "Asami Sato is a confident, beautiful, intelligent woman who can kick ass like there's no tomorrow!"

Asami held her breath and stared at her lap to avoid Korra's gaze.

"She's the person who held her shit together when her father died and her company almost went bankrupt at only 19!"

Her body trembled.

"She's the girl who has to be reminded to eat her lunch when she's at work because she's working too hard! She can't cook to save her life and keeps cleaning up the house even though her own work is all over the place!"

She felt a hand touch her cheek.

"She's the woman I love with my entire soul." Her head shot up, only to see a sad smile on Korra's lips, and blue eyes looking at her with such affection that she forgot to breathe for a second.

"You're the girl I spent hours with, slow-dancing in the living room. You're the dork who argued with me about cereal at the supermarket. You're the one I shared a million kisses and tears with. You're the one I spent days with on Netflix, just snuggling under the covers when it was raining outside. You were the one who caught me when I was falling and crumbling away." Each word Korra spoke had Asami quivering more and more in an attempt to suppress the surge of pure emotion pulsing in her.

Korra gently brushed away the tears on Asami's face. Asami hesitantly placed her hand on Korra's, leaning into the soothing touch.

"The words hurt me. I didn't expect it. And I won't lie; at first I seriously considered taking a break from our relationship." Asami gasped. "But I was angry. It took me a while, but after I cooled down, I realised it was actually my fault. I should have been more considerate of your feelings. I guess I just liked the attention. I'm sorry."

"If you needed attention, I'd have given it to you, free-of-charge."

Korra laughed fondly. "Yeah. I was a jerk. Truthfully, I wanted to talk to you a lot earlier. I just didn't really know how to bring it up. Sorry about that."

"You shouldn't be the one apologising, you know."

"I never want to hear you talk about yourself like that again. You shouldn't say those things about yourself. I know you've been suffering too." Asami opened her mouth to say something but Korra cut her off. "Bolin and Opal filled me in on you when I wasn't here. Look at yourself, Asami. You practically tortured yourself."

"I just haven't been sleeping or eating well lately."

Korra sucked in a sharp breathe at the confession. Asami scooted closer, getting up from the chair she was sitting in and placing herself in Korra's lap, arms wrapping tightly around the younger girl. She let out a shaky exhale as more tears threatened to fall again. Korra hugged her girlfriend back just as tightly.

"Asami…"

"I don't know why. I was angry with myself. I missed you. I couldn't really do anything else but miss you because I thought you'd leave me."

Korra began lightly rocking her body, resting her forehead on Asami's chest and sighing contentedly at the terribly familiar warmth enveloping her.

"Never. Not in this lifetime." Korra lifted her head to kiss her, which Asami responded to with pent-up passion.

"I was actually prepared you know, for you to dump me."

Asami rested her cheek on Korra's shoulder, eyes starting to droop. She yawned and continued mumbling despite the growing desire to pass out. "I watched you sleep the whole night. I wanted to treasure you for the last time. I wanted to memorise everything about you. Your smell, the sounds you make when you sleep, your warmth…" Another yawn.

She sleepily turned her head to glance at Korra.

Her eyes widened and a grin broke out on her face.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Its not my fault you're the one saying all these things!" Korra spluttered, a fierce blush spreading across her face.

"Cute."

"Ugh!" Asami laughed, peppering kisses all over her adorable girlfriend's red-stained cheeks.

"So… we're good?" She asks. Korra rolled her eyes.

"We're cuddling. What do you think?"

Asami smiled apologetically before laying her head back down on Korra's shoulder, the final strings of consciousness beginning to melt away. She felt Korra kiss her cheek before murmuring a 'goodnight' and falling back onto the bed, bringing her down with her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here ya go guys. I didn't really know how to go about it because I initially wanted them to break up. I adore angst.
> 
> But I decided against it; halfway through writing this, I felt so sorry for Asami and just decided, "you know what? she's gonna be happy here. I'll give her a happy every after!" and there you have it.
> 
> Sorry if it seems anti-climatic. maybe I'll add a chapter 3 showing an alternate ending? The original ending? Maybe a longer version of what happened or what happens afterwards? Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Apologies for any mistakes made!

**Author's Note:**

> Right, this was a prompt that'd been dancing around my head for weeks and my brain vomited out this masterpiece. Isn't it absolutely perfect? And I know that it's kinda OOC for Asami to be like that but hey, I like to experiment. Just don't hate me.
> 
> That was sarcasm, if you didn't already know. My sense of humour sucks so pardon me.
> 
> Doggie in the Window chap 2 is in the making right now. So yeah. Please PM me if you wanna talk... or anything. Leave a review too, you kind souls.


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